I wish I would’ve bought stock in Uber early.
The popular driving service app has partnered up with The National Football League to provide car service to NFL players for the upcoming football season. Players will be able to request rides through the Uber mobile app, which provides a black car service. Like other mobile apps, Uber uses GPS to locate the user so that all the person has to do is press a button to request a ride. Players can party like rockstars and use Uber to get home instead of driving.
As an incentive, players will get a $200 credit to use the service. Uber and the NFLPA will give personalized keychain cards with the credits attached to active NFL players. The NFLPA will be getting the word out about the program in September. ”The goal for us is to change behavior,” said DeMaurice Smith, NFL Players Association executive director, in a conference call with reporters.
While there are other programs for players offered by teams, the players association believes this is another option that could help address the problem, Smith said. There is no one cause or solution to the problem, Smith said, but Uber will be a convenient way for many players to get around. Most players have smart phones or access to one.
The analysis the players association has done has shown that most incidents of players driving under the influence occurred in major metropolitan cities between 2am to 4am on Friday and Saturday nights. The ability to use Uber is shot at curbing that issue.
Uber is currently in 17 of the 31 cities where NFL teams are located (and is in about 40 cities worldwide). Uber expects to be in the “20s” by the first quarter of next year, Kalanick said. Some NFL cities such as Miami and Houston, do not allow competition to taxis, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said, so Uber is talking to city officials hoping to bring Uber to those cities as well.
